The Road to Inverness
by Petra Todd
Summary: While hitchhiking through Scotland, Rey encounters the last person on earth she wants to see. However he just might be the person she needs to see, more than anything.


It was on the road to Inverness, somewhere between Ben Nevis and Letterfinlay, that Rey realized she was completely and utterly fucked.

The day had started out perfectly, with fluffy clouds in the sky, and the air a reasonable 13 degrees. Taking on the mountain meant she was going to be sweating, and she preferred starting out with cool weather that would keep her moving. And it had worked out beautifully for her; her hike up one of Ben Nevis' more leisurely paths was everything she had hoped for when planning her trip back in London. Late in the morning, she came across a picturesque waterfall, though the view was a bit marred by a handful of adventurous Swedes slipping off their clothes to climb in. When Rey snapped a photo, she angled her camera tastefully to avoid the tourists and capture the unspoiled beauty of the place.

Journeying on until mid-afternoon, Rey discovered a variety of wildflowers and bracken, and a gnarled tree whose roots had grown into the shape of teacup. Her camera captured it all, and before she turned to head back down the path, she stopped to take a photo of herself too. Setting aside her walking stick and lying down in the grass, Rey shot a photo of her face framed by heather, her cheeks flushed with exercise and her eyes beaming.

Peeking at the image inside her camera, Rey appreciated the joy in her eyes _. Can't remember the last time I looked this happy_ , she thought.

 _Actually I can,_ another voice inside her whispered. An image of herself walking along a rocky shore on a rainy day came to mind. That wasn't a photo she'd taken herself though; they'd asked a passing local to hold the camera, while they laughed and held hands, waiting for the flash. He tilted his head to kiss the top of her head; Rey's eyes sparkled and her grin widened just as the flash came.

Rey shoved aside the memory with a scowl. That was a long time ago, almost a year now, and she was over it. More or less. University had been a welcome distraction, and her travels felt like a cleansing breath of air. She'd been hitchhiking her way through England and Scotland, and the challenge of it provided the change of pace she needed. After visiting Ben Nevis and then Inverness, she needed to head back to London, but she was loving every minute of her adventure on the road. This was the life for her: all on her own terms, and with no American wanker to ruin it.

 _He's a thousand miles away from here_ , Rey thought, old anger bubbling anew. _Forget it. Ben Solo can keep his money and cars and work. I have all of Scotland and a mountain._

With that, Rey grabbed her stick and trudged down the mountain. The path was longer than she recalled from her journey up, but she didn't think that was going to be an issue.

At least, she didn't believe so until just after 4 o'clock when the Highland skies darkened and the clouds cracked open to pour freezing rain down on Rey.

By 5 o'clock, the cardboard sign she was holding (" _A82! Inverness_!") was falling apart. The rain had battered her worn sign until it was nearly torn in half, the soggy and ink-smeared cardboard limp in her hands. Rey had no luck at the nearest petrol station just off the road; the locals were leery of the waterlogged hitchhiker, and the suspicious clerk at the counter told to her to clear out after only fifteen minutes. She was left with no choice but to venture back out into the rain, and hope someone would take pity on her sorry self.

She knew it was risky to walk along the road- if spotted, the police could take her in for hitchhiking- but she didn't see any alternatives. She just wished she'd thought to bring an umbrella on this leg of the trip.

Tying an old plastic sack around her hair to serve as a makeshift hood, Rey marched down the road with her thumb out. The plastic flapped around her face, obscuring her vision, but at least her bun wasn't soaked.

"This will be a funny story to tell in a month. You can do it, you can," she muttered as yet another car drove by and splattered mud on her.

It was pissing down now, and Rey was beginning to wonder if she should track down an inn somewhere, when a gleaming black sports car came zooming along. For a second, she thought it was going to pass her by as well, but the car slowed to a stop, rolling up to where she stood. Rey broke into a grin, and waved hello at the tinted window. After a tense minute, with her wondering if the vehicle was going to take off again without her, the door swung open. Rey didn't hesitate. She dove into the seat, settled her backpack onto the floor between her feet, and closed the door.

The car rolled back onto the road to Inverness, with the car's powerful engine bringing them to top speed within a few seconds.

Rey brushed aside the wet plastic around her face, nudging the sack further back on her head, and then turned to the driver. Her right hand in her pocket held her safety precaution out of sight- a woman couldn't be too careful on the road. "Thank you so much! I thought no one was…."

Her words evaporated. Suddenly the endless roar of the rain was gone; all she could hear was the thumping of her heart.

"You thought what?" He said, keeping his eyes on the road. Rey's mouth dropped open, but her mind had completely blanked out.

His eyes slid to her briefly. The hint of a smile appeared on his full lips.

"Nice hat," Ben Solo added.

* * *

For a minute, he thought he was losing his mind.

Ben was driving down A82, taking the Silencer for a spin to test out the new set of rims. The rain wasn't a problem for this car; it handled like a dream. And he needed to be out of the cottage, if he was being honest with himself. He knew he was doing the right thing by being there, but that didn't make it easy.

He was cruising along the road, listening to an old Three Days Grace playlist, when he spotted someone standing just off the asphalt. On first glance, he thought it was an old woman, with a blue babushka on her head and a sodden pair of muddy jean overalls.

"What the hell…?" he said, wondering if it was one of his mother's neighbors. She'd kill him if she found out from local gossip that he ignored a person stranded by the side of the road. Rolling up closer to the person, however, he realized her face was unlined and that the material on her head he'd taken for a scarf was actually a plastic bag, ripped, rearranged and tied under her chin to serve as a hood. It wasn't until she leaned over to smile through his window and waved at him that he realized who it was.

 _It can't be…not her, not here. In Scotland, of all places._

He had to be seeing things. All the craziness of the past year had taken its toll, clearly. That was not Rey standing there in the rain, grinning at him like he was the best thing she'd seen all week, those damned dimples of hers framing her mouth the way they used to when he kissed her.

He realized he was still staring at her, and doing nothing. Ben reached over for the passenger door and unlocked it. _Maybe you really have lost it,_ he thought as he threw the door open and watched her settle in. _Maybe you're having an aneurysm and this is some kind of dying vision._

But if that was the case, he would die happy.

* * *

Rey ripped the plastic sack off her head with her left hand and threw it onto the car floor in a crumple. Her right hand tightened around the weapon in her pocket. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"

"I live here. I should be asking what you're doing here." Ben's eyes darted sideways to meet hers. "What've you got there, Rey?"

She drew the Taser from her pocket carefully. She didn't plan on zapping him with it, though it was tempting. She'd certainly had fantasies about it in the past year. In her fantasies though, he was dressed in a beautifully tailored suit, and not in faded jeans and a forest green t-shirt that had seen better days.

"Is that legal?" Ben asked, his deep voice still maddeningly calm.

"No idea." Rey shrugged, and leaned over to place it in her backpack. "Where are you taking me? Shit, I can't believe this."

"Well let's start with, where are you going?" Ben asked impatiently. His fingers were white-knuckled around the steering wheel.

"Inverness." Her voice was huskier than she would've liked.

"Inverness." Ben glanced at her. "It's not so far. Another hour and a half on A82."

"You would drive me there? Never mind, I want to get out. Stop the car." This was madness, she couldn't spend an hour alone with Ben in this tight space. _His stupid sports car collection_ , she thought. _Should've known it was him. And why is he here? Not in New York or Hong Kong or anybloodywhere else._

"I can't pull over here, it's not safe, Rey. Look around. And for fuck's sake, what are you doing hitchhiking? Do you know how dangerous it can be? And it's illegal here."

"Thank you for mansplaining it," Rey hissed back. "But I can take care of myself." She looked out the window, and begrudgingly had to admit he was right. They'd passed into a forested area, dark with no visible paths by the side of the road. Even her Taser might not save her in an area like this.

"Feel free to say no or tell me to go to hell again, but I think we'd be better off waiting for the storm to ease up. Our place is about ten minutes from here."

"Our?" Rey asked sharply. "Are you living with someone? Is that why you moved?"

Ben smiled faintly. "My mother. Leia would love to see you again, I'm sure."

Rey's face softened. "Leia, really? I knew she left the university but no one could tell me where. Even Poe didn't know and he was her teaching assistant."

"Yes, she didn't want anyone coming to see her and feel sorry for her. Not the pretty boy assistant and not even her favorite student." He looked at Rey. "You should know…you'll be able to tell if you come, anyway… Leia's been ill. Breast cancer. She's receiving treatment but the cure is worse than the disease, they say."

Rey suddenly felt ashamed of her lingering resentment. She brushed back a damp lock of hair. "I think I'd love to see her, actually." And if Leia was present, it wouldn't be like spending alone time with Ben, she thought to herself. Now that the shock of his presence was wearing off, she felt the old comfortableness returning. It was exhilarating and made her feel like throwing up all at once. Only Ben Solo could do this to her, and it was infuriating. But she really did want to see her favorite professor again. She was important to her, even before she fell in love with Leia Organa's wayward son.

* * *

It was the first half of her second year reading literature at uni, and the stodgy professors had grown stale to her already. The dullness of their lessons had Rey questioning her career choice, and sent her into a mild depression over her future.

"You need to join Organa's class on Shakespeare. It's the best," Poe swore. "It'll completely change your perspective on the Bard. She's a hard grader, but it's worth it. She's an expat like me- don't hold it against her."

He was right as usual. For an American, Poe was brilliant with Shakespeare and knew the best classes at the school. Leia was a light in the darkness, the person who returned Rey's faith in academia and the study of literature. Her raspy-voiced lectures were packed every week, with her dry American wit livening up the centuries-old material. She seemed to take a special liking for Rey, with even Poe and his boyfriend Finn teasing her about being teacher's pet. After a month earning top marks under Leia's wing, the professor invited Rey to a private party in her flat, not far from the campus. Rey had no idea what to expect from the occasion, and agonized over attending, but in the end, dutifully turned up in her best dress, a twenty-quid bargain find. It was just a basic little black dress, but anything that made her breasts look slightly bigger was good in Rey's book.

Poe and Finn were at the party, along with a handful of lecturers, and a tall dark-haired young man she'd never seen before. Unlike the casually dressed students, and the professors who favored tweed or bohemian styles, this man was clad in Savile Row's finest. The perfectly cut black suit showed off his wide chest, and coordinated well with his silky dark hair. Rey found herself stuttering when Leia finally introduced the man as her son.

"Excuse my son, he's a corporate raider and has no manners." Leia slung an arm around each of them. In her towering son's case, she had to reach up and yank him down to accomplish it. "Rey, meet my kid, Ben Solo. Ben, this is the smartest student I've had all year. So be nice and get her a drink."

Ben's eyes narrowed at his mother. Rey blushed. "It's alright, I don't need one."

"It's fine, I'll do it." He sighed and shrugged off his mother's arm. He glanced at his watch. "What'll you have?"

"I, uh- scotch and soda?" Rey smiled. As he wandered off, she searched the room for Poe. Anyone, really, to help her feel less absurd speaking to this man who so clearly did not want to be there. How could Leia Organa have produced such a stiff rich bastard?

"Here," he said curtly. Ben had returned with a fresh drink for Rey, and somewhere along the way had shed his jacket. The crisp white shirt beneath did little to hide the thick muscles that seemed so incongruous for a- what had Leia said, a "corporate raider"?

"Are you really a businessman? It's hard to imagine Professor Organa's son doing that."

"It was hard for her to imagine too." Ben sipped his single-malt. "My mother is still trying to save my soul from the corporate world, that's the only reason she invites me over anymore. But she's destined to be disappointed." His brown eyes fell to her face, and for the first time Rey felt as though he was actually _looking_ at her. "You don't really care about this, do you?"

Rey straightened. "Just being polite. People seem to expect it, but honestly I'd rather skip the small talk."

His face relaxed. "Yeah, me too… Do you ever feel like most of the world has been given a script, but you haven't? There's things we're supposed to say, and I just couldn't ever work it out."

"A play that we're thrust into without any rehearsal." Her eyes danced.

"And with frankly terrible writing."

She nodded. "Oh undoubtedly! I mean, look at the world. It's clearly a rough draft."

Ben's serious eyes lightened. "You want to get out of here?"

"Sorry, what?" Her pulse quickened.

Ben set down his drink, and leaned in to Rey, his mouth hovering over her ear. "You look about as comfortable here as I feel. C'mon, Rey. Forget the smalltalk…and the wanking over Kit Marlowe's plays. It's a beautiful night. I want to look at the moon, and I think it would be better with you at my side. What do you say?"

And then, in the middle of the crowded room, Ben Solo extended his hand to her.

She didn't know if it was the warmth of the scotch or the strangeness of the night taking hold in her, but somehow Rey found herself taking his hand, and letting him lead her from the party.

She never made it home that night and it was a long time before his hand left hers. He even drove his Lamborghini one-handed, his other hand caressing hers on the way to the shore.

The moon rose overhead, full and heavy with promise. Sitting on the sandy shore atop his black jacket, it was Rey who acted first, finding his lips and sinking into Ben Solo.

* * *

The seeds of their ending were there that first night, Rey thought, in retrospect. He was a corporate investor who thrived on consuming small companies, selling off them or adding them to his growing empire, as his mother had hinted. Rey was a university student searching for deeper meaning in the songs of the world. It couldn't work, she knew that from the start.

But the chemistry between them was undeniable from the first. His large hands sliding up and down her body drew shudders from Rey that curled her toes. Ben was unfailingly generous with her, spending hours between her thighs and spending money on gifts she never asked for. But ones that touched her nonetheless. An incredibly rare edition of a Shakespeare folio, a string of sapphires for her wrist, a surprise holiday in Scotland so Rey could visit the site of the real MacBeth's castle. It was there in Inverness that Rey first told him she loved him. Afterward, Ben covered her face with kisses and squeezed her so tightly, she could barely breathe. They drove to the coast to see the firth, and walked on the shore, laughing in the rain until they found a stranger to take a photo of them together. God, how she loved taking photos of Ben. She could study his curious face and those expressive lips at her leisure then. Decipher the mysteries of him by capturing his eyes, amber-brown in the morning light.

But the intensity and darkness that drew her to him held Ben apart from her as well, keeping some piece of him at arm's length. Sometimes she felt like she was in love with two different people. His uneasy relationship with his mother showed a thread of anger in him that worried her. He'd been estranged from his father for years before the man's death. How long before it turned on her? A month, a year? He fell into dark moods that would last days, with him sullen and irritable, and traveled so much for work, she often went a week at a time without seeing him. And the work he did, closing out small companies without a care for the local consequences, ate at Rey's conscience.

Most importantly, the bitterness he carried with him was a slow toxin, one that Rey feared would poison her too eventually.

* * *

After five months, she saw the writing on the wall. How often Ben brought up the subject to their future together. How his eyes lingered when they passed jewelry stores. How he hinted she didn't have to finish school if she was bored with the parts besides Leia's classes.

Rey felt as though she was being consumed by Ben as easily as the companies who stood in his way.

One Sunday night, with Ben away in Hong Kong again, Rey gathered the things she'd left at his flat, left a note on his nightstand, and didn't look back.

* * *

"My god, is that Rey Niima?" Leia crowed from the porch. "Get over here, girl."

Rey plastered smile on her face to cover her shock; the professor had lost so much weight, and a thin scarf covered her head instead of the long brown hair Rey remembered.

"Oh stop looking at me like I have cancer. It's boring," Leia commented, wrapping her up in a hug. "I've been thinking about buying a pink wig though. I know it would drive Ben up the wall."

Ben's eyes rolled heavenward, and Rey laughed.

"It's really good to see you again, professor. Next time, at least leave me a personal email to check in with."

Leia waved a hand. "Fine, fine. Now tell me, did my handsome son kidnap you? Because- not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but I didn't think I ever would again. After he mucked it up."

Ben's mouth opened to protest. Leia raised her eyebrows at her son. "You need to be quiet- let her explain."

Rey paused. "I was traveling and I ran into Ben on the road. He helped me out. I'll be on my way to the city soon enough. After the rain stops."

"Well let's get you cleaned up. You look like you went crawling through a mud puddle."

"I basically did," Rey said with a grin.

"This way to the shower then. We'll leave you something to wear on the bed. Can't wait to hear what you've been up to at dinner! And then you can tell me how terrible the literature department is without me."

* * *

The shower pressure in Leia's small cottage left a lot to be desired, but after her harrowing afternoon, Rey was just happy to thaw out in the hot water.

Unfortunately, she was all too aware of the duo waiting for her in the kitchen, so after a quick scrub-down, Rey toweled off and stepped into the bedroom attached to the restroom.

Lying on the bed was an oversized clean white t-shirt. At first Rey was puzzled to find only the one garment, but after slipping it on, she realized it was all she'd need. The t-shirt's hem landed only a couple inches above her knees, and the width of the shirt, well it made it obvious who it belonged to. And the scent of him clung to the fabric. Rey found herself sniffing the collar of the shirt, her eyes closed, her memory tugging at her. She had to admit, she was surprised to see the common brand of the shirt, a plain cotton tee that could be purchased in any bargain store.

"What happened to Savile Row and Calvin Klein?" Rey said under her breath, before heading for the door.

* * *

When his mother offered to grab clothes for Rey, Ben had assumed she'd offer up something of her own. Watching Rey tentatively step into the kitchen, he realized he was dead wrong, and he thanked god for it. His t-shirt skimmed her thighs, the white contrasting with her tanned skin. He wanted to smooth his hands over those thighs and push the old shirt up to her waist. He wanted to slide his hands under the cotton and roll her nipples between his fingers while he licked her sweet pussy. He wanted to hold the collar in his fists and rip the t-shirt open, splitting it down the middle to bare her body for him before he fucked her senseless.

Instead Ben stood, and offered Rey his seat.

"It's warmer here, the furnace vent is…It's warm here," he finished weakly, and turned to help Leia at the stove.

Rey seemed to accept the gesture, and sat down in the chair, carefully keeping her legs tight together.

"Can I ask…how did you both end up in Scotland?"

"Well I needed to take a break to deal with this-" Leia stopped stirring the pan of chicken and veggies to point at her chest-"And wonder of wonders, my son decided to take care of me. Left his fancy job, sold his cars- except for that ugly Silencer- and said he wanted to join me here. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I said sure."

"You are one to look a gift horse in the mouth. You would check all its teeth and send the horse to a doctor for a complete examination before accepting it," Ben said.

Leia laughed, and spooned the chicken onto three plates. "You're damn right I would. Get the rice, Ben. Oof, hot flash."

"Turn off the stove then. Your sweater is probably just on fire again." Ben shrugged and grabbed the pot of rice. He doled out portions onto each of the plates, and set the pot back on the burner.

"Smartass," she said. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw his mother smirking. They'd never be the lovey-dovey sort of mother and son, but their communication had improved tenfold in the past six months. Leia was proud of the changes he'd made, and he was making an effort to be more patient with his mother, and channel his long-simmering resentments in healthier directions. Like telling her when she was being an interfering pain in the ass, for starters, instead of tamping down on the emotion until it exploded messily.

"You sit here," Leia said with a gleam in her eye, pointing at the seat next to Rey. Usually that was Leia's preferred chair.

Oh she was up to something alright.

"Why thank you, Mom," he said, letting his eyes tell her he knew exactly what she was doing.

It was pointless. Rey had walked away from him a year ago, and told him in no uncertain terms what she needed. His mother attempting to nudge them toward each other now would only upset Rey. And he'd done enough of that. He never wanted to do that again.

* * *

 _I love you but I can't do this._

 _Please let me go._

* * *

The words Rey had left for Ben on his nightstand hung in the air between them, as Rey tucked into her meal. The chicken was hot and tasty, laden with garlic and herbs from Leia's garden. But all she could see was the letter, the cowardly way out she'd taken. Every time she looked at him, in her mind again she saw Ben, the last night she had watched him sleep before he left for Hong Kong. When she already knew she was leaving him, with the words floating through her mind.

There was no fury in Ben when he slept- no cunning, no drive, no need to conquer everything to wrestle some kind of control over his universe. His long hair lay on his cheek, soft and inviting to her fingers. When she slid into bed, he curved around her easily, bending and moving without resistance. He was gentle and giving without a trace of anger in his face.

She wanted to see him like that all the time, but she didn't know how to save him from himself.

Now, watching Ben and his mother joke easily, in the unlikeliest place, Rey realized her error was in thinking she ever could save him. He had to take the first steps on his own, and walk the path without her. It hurt to admit she couldn't fix it, but wasn't it egotistical of her to ever think she could? To give up because secretly Rey had thought, if she couldn't help him, then no one could. Her hubris haunted her.

She had asked him to let her go, when really she was the one holding on. The decision to leave had tormented her for a year, but looking back, Rey realized it was the only right thing she could have done for Ben Solo.

* * *

Rey insisted on clearing the plates, and raved about the meal, though Ben knew it was nothing special.

"No, really," Rey swore, nibbling on a spoonful of rice. "In foster care, this would be considered gourmet." She looked down at her plate; he recognized the pinched half-smile she wore now. She felt awkward. She rarely brought up her troubled upbringing, always preferring to look to the future.

"It's not bad," Ben agreed. "I've had to learn how to cook since the Thai food around here sucks. And Leia was always better with books and protest groups than food."

"Hey, you didn't starve, did you?"

"I was pretty skinny until college," Ben retorted.

"Really? Are there any photos?" Rey asked.

"No."

"Absolutely!" Leia said. "I'll get the album out, it's in here somewhere. Oh, and Rey- it's getting late and the roads won't be much better, I think you should stay here tonight. Plenty of room for you, Ben will show you. Okay, be back in a bit," she said without waiting for a reply.

"So…" Rey set aside the rinsed dish. "Things seem really good here. It's a lovely home."

"I wanted to buy a bigger place, but my mother likes 'cozy.' And there's almost no stairs, so we didn't have to worry about her being weak or falling when she gets dizzy."

"Wait, is this your place?"

Ben leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "Technically. I paid for it. But it's my mother's home. I wouldn't call it mine. She always wanted a Scottish cottage."

"So you gave her one."

His chest ached with the tenderness in Rey's eyes. Was she getting emotional over what was simply a practical decision?

"It's just a house, Rey. And I like Scotland too so it made sense. Wasn't going to leave her in the care of some nurse, you can't know how qualified someone really is."

"I know you like Scotland." Rey dried her hands and took a step toward him. Her hazel eyes were luminous. "I remember."

He couldn't bear to look at her anymore; his throat felt tight with it. "Is that why you came back? Inverness, of all places?"

"I wanted to see where MacBeth lived, and Malcolm."

Ben lifted his eyes up. "You saw those before. With me."

"Yes." She nodded. "I needed to go back. I didn't…really think about it. Ben?" She took another step, her knees nearly bumping against his. Ben's eyes fell to the hem of her t-shirt- _his_ t-shirt, really- moving above her knees. God, it would be so easy…

"Yes." He swallowed.

"Thank you, for letting me go."

It was like a knife in his gut. Cutting him open and displaying his innards to the world.

"I didn't know I was doing that to you until then." His eyes were wet when they met hers again. "I didn't see it. Nothing made sense for a while. I hated it, hated you," he admitted. "Dove back into work. Spent a month gutting a factory business in Vietnam. I wanted to tear the world apart. But after my mother got sick… it forced me to stop, and look."

Rey took his hands in hers, and Ben felt himself crack open even more.

"Hating everything, it didn't change anything. And then one day I woke up and couldn't face the idea of going to work any longer."

"That much change, it must've been hard," Rey said.

Ben exhaled. "No. It wasn't. Once I stopped fighting so hard…when I let go, I realized I didn't want anything I had. The job, the cars, the suits…toys to distract me from seeing what was in front of me. Then I went to see a therapist." He laughed. "That was helpful too. Boring as hell sometimes, if I'm honest. But I never saw how much of my hate was leaking out until I learned to see myself. And once I stopped…I didn't want any of it."

He pulled his hands from Rey's clasp, and reached for her shoulders. She gazed up at him, her eyes welling with tears.

"Rey?"

"Do you think you could stop talking and start kissing me now?" she said, a sob breaking her last word.

* * *

Rey mildly came to her senses as the pair stumbled into his bedroom, their mouths tangled up in each other. Ben laid her down carefully on the bed that filled most of the small room.

"Ben…Ben…" Rey whispered. "What about your mother?"

"She invited you to stay over tonight," Ben said, stripping off his shirt and crawling on the bed next to her.

"So?"

"She's no dummy. We only have two bedrooms," he replied. "Don't ever underestimate Leia Organa."

Rey clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles.

"Shhhh," Ben said. "Be quiet. I'm busy and I'd like to stop talking about my mother."

"Oh, busy are you?" Rey asked, as Ben slipped a hand between her thighs, stroking the skin just above her knees.

"Very very busy," he said. Ben stopped touching her long enough to shuck his pants.

"Ohh these haven't changed," she said, stroking the side of his black boxer briefs. "Versace?"

"Well…Gotta have some standards, right," Ben said, before dropping the underwear onto the floor with the rest of his clothes.

* * *

When Rey took him in her arms for the first time in a year, Ben had thought he'd have her naked and riding his cock within ten minutes, he was so hungry to be inside her again.

Rey was in control however. And he needed to show her, to prove he'd learned.

That was easier said than done, when she rolled him onto his back and climbed on top, insisting on nothing but kissing and touching for nearly an hour.

"A minute for every week away from me seems fair," Rey whispered. She squirmed against him while they relearned each other, tasting and teasing one another. Ben discovered all over again the incredible smoothness of her back, and the way she arched violently whenever he cupped her ass. Rey's nails curled into his chest, scraping over his nipples and he smiled, moved to see her remember just how much he liked it when she skated the edge of pleasure and pain with him. The long t-shirt rode up to her waist, and Ben couldn't resist slipping his thigh in between hers, relishing the wiry brush of her cunt hair on his skin, with wetness spilling out beneath. Growing more frantic, Rey drove their kissing to urgent new levels, rolling her clit against the rough surface of his leg. "Don't stop until I'm so wet I'll drown you," Rey begged, her teeth nipping at his bottom lip.

"Christ," he muttered. Her breaths came faster and faster with her rocking against him, and he was so hard he thought he might come just from watching her tits jiggle under his old shirt. The dark part of him (something of it would always be there, he knew) was fiercely glad his scent was marking her, through his clothes on her body. Her dark nipples scraped against the t-shirt, the firm outline of them taunting him. "Fuck it," he said, and sucked her nipple into his mouth, biting a damp circle through the fabric. He gave its twin the same treatment until Rey was sliding up and down his thigh, her juices soaking him.

"Oh god… _Ben_!" Her high-pitched cry carried through the cottage until he covered her mouth. Rey's sharp teeth came down on his skin, his name spilling from her mouth in smothered moans as she climaxed, her clit rubbing furiously on his leg.

She collapsed onto the bed, stretching her legs out with a gleeful grin on her face. She was glowing, and best of all, her eyes on him were filled with so much love. She was suffused with light; Ben marveled that fate had brought this woman back into his life and bed. He'd do whatever it took to keep her there, as long as she wanted to be.

"I wanted to do more…everything," Rey said softly, still breathless. "But I climbed a mountain today, and walked a few kilometers."

"It's fine," Ben said, kissing her throat and stroking the round of her belly beneath the shirt. "Do you need some water?"

"No it's not fine," Rey insisted. "I really need you now. Take me, Ben. The rest can wait until tomorrow. I just need to feel you inside me and then I'll be able to sleep."

She didn't have to ask twice.

When he slid inside her, gently pumping and stroking her inner walls with his thick cock, Rey found a new store of strength. And within a half dozen thrusts, she was matching him, her hips lifting to meet him in a rhythm that felt fresh and yet somehow familiar, like a song he loved and would never grow weary of.

* * *

"I actually am thirsty," Rey said. Her cheeks were as ruddy as if she were still standing on a windy mountainside. She felt the heat of them when she pushed strands of her hair back, away from her mouth. Beside her, Ben gasped, still recovering from their activity. With her words, he jumped up and headed for the door- clothing be damned.

"I could drink from the faucet in there," Rey offered, gesturing to the restroom. "Don't want to wake her."

"I'm not starting over with you by giving you rusty tap water." Ben ducked into the kitchen and was back in a moment with a bottle of cold water.

"Thank you. You know, you don't have to serve me," she said, accepting the bottle. "I mean I like the changes, but we're equals. We're in this together."

Ben crawled back into bed with her, pulling the blankets up over Rey. Somewhere in the sex, he'd paused to tear the t-shirt off her. She found it fantastically fun at the time but now wasn't sure what she'd wear to breakfast. Ah well.

"All I want is another chance," he said. "We'll figure it out."

"But it's something we'll have to figure out together. No hiding or running."

"Yes," Ben said, slinging an arm around her waist. "Together."

"Ben?"

"Hmm?"

Rey's voice was quiet with her mouth nearly under the covers. "I'm so glad I found you on the road."

"I thought it was me who found you?" he teased.

"We found each other."

"Yes. Yes we did."

* * *

 _This fic was inspired by the prompt: "need to be quiet, anger, Inverness" on my tumblr. Thanks to Emcee for betaing the fic!_


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